The scientific community fears this Saturday that the explosions at La Soufriere volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will continue for hours and even days, whose activity would have caused the death of one person and the evacuation of at least 16,000, in an effort that has been made difficult due to the covid-19 pandemic.

According to the local station Boom Radio 106.9 FM, which cites relatives of the deceased, an elderly person who was staying in a shelter in the area called red, near the volcano, left the same last night to go to his home and was found this Saturday dead. inside your home.

According to what the family said, he died drowned by the ash-laden air that prevailed in the area as a result of the eruption.

For his part, the vice president of the Red Cross in San Vicente, Harvey Farrell, told Efe today that the organization is looking for three missing persons.

“Their relatives have told us that they have not heard from them since yesterday,” he explained.

The crater of the mountain registered throughout Friday up to three explosions with columns of ash, smoke and steam up to six kilometers high, and according to the scientist at the head of the control of the activity of the volcano, Richard Robertson, the same they could occur over “days or weeks.”

“We are now in a kind of silent period between times. The explosions have already started (up to three) and there may be more. They have not necessarily been the strongest. Basically it is fresh magma, miscellaneous material, and gas. We should not be surprised if it continues for days or weeks. You have to watch it closely, “Robertson said today in statements to state broadcaster NBC Radio.

In turn, he noted that the ashes reach the capital, Kingstown, in the south, and asked that the masks be kept on not only because of the pandemic, but also because of the heavy air due to the ashes.

“They are different ashes than those generated when wood or coal is burned. These are very fine fragments of rocks produced by the volcano itself, “he said.

“That rock has now been pulverized and is expelled in what we call ash,” he added.

The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, for his part, has asked for patience from the population of the red zone, the one near the volcano, and has indicated that if there are no more severe explosions, it could be estimated at four months the beginning of the return to normality.

Several neighboring nations such as Saint Lucia, Dominica and Barbados have already begun to deliver necessary materials for many of the around 15,000 people residing in the area who are being evacuated, such as tents, mattresses and other material that will be distributed throughout today.

Terry Lane Airport, in Barbados, has been closed until tomorrow due to low visibility due to the ash released.

IN SEARCH OF WATER, BLANKETS AND FOOD

Farrell told Efe that the needs are water, blankets and food, as well as basic hygiene packages.

In this sense, he explained that the first thing that closes when there are explosions and emissions like those of the volcano is the water network due to its possible contamination.

In turn, he pointed out that one of the concerns is the possibility that cases of covid-19 will reappear in the evacuation process and in the crowds in shelters, although he warned that tests against the virus are being carried out and are being sought vaccines, although “of course” the protection “is not complete.”

Several cruise ships are still waiting to receive evacuees to be transferred to other nearby countries and almost 2,500 people are staying in more than 60 shelters set up by local authorities.

The La Soufriere volcano erupted this Friday for the first time since 1979 and throughout the day it registered up to three volcanic explosions, with columns of ash and smoke of up to six kilometers.

Due to the direction of the wind since Friday, a large part of the ash in the air is heading towards the Atlantic Ocean, to the northeast.

The volcano began to reactivate last December.

La Soufriere had last erupted on April 13, 1979.

An explosive eruption at La Soufriere killed more than a thousand people in 1902.

.

Categorized in: